Sexual assault is a heinous crime no matter which race the perpetrator belongs to, but it seems as though African-American athletes accused of rape receive more negative media attention than white athletes. 
Indianapolis Colts linebacker Josh McNary, 26, recently was charged with a rape that allegedly took place Dec. 1, 2014. A 29-year-old woman accused McNary of taking her back to an apartment after a night of drinking and raping her.
She said after they began kissing, McNary became aggressive when she refused to go any further. She claims after the assault, she was able to sneak out of the apartment when McNary went to the bathroom. She left scratches on his body and took his cellphone along with her.
You probably just shook your head in disbelief thinking, “Not again.”
Unfortunately, this is becoming a never-ending cycle, and it seems like there is another famous athlete in the media fighting sexual assault allegations every other day.
But how many white athletes have you seen in the media for sexual assault? Not that many. It’s peculiar that the majority of sexual assaults broadcast by the media are committed by African-Americans. 
So much for a post-racial American society, right? 
Even though this is no surprise, it doesn’t mean it’s fair. All athletes, no matter their race, should be shamed and punished for their wrongdoings.
The list of African-Americans who have been condemned by the media for sexual assault goes on and on: Darren Sharper, O. J. Simpson, Ray McDonald, Mike Tyson, Jameis Winston, Lance Stephenson, Ray Lewis, etc.
While these athletes should be ashamed for what they’ve done, there’s a good chance you had no idea that Peyton Manning also has been accused of sexual assault.
Yes, you read that correctly. America’s hero, Peyton Manning, was accused of assaulting a woman. Manning allegedly sexually assaulted his female trainer in 1996 at the University of Tennessee. He claims he dropped his pants to “moon” a cross-country athlete, and it “just so happened” the trainer’s face was right in front of him when he went to sit his nude body down.
However, the trainer has a completely different side of the story. She claims that she was checking Manning’s foot for pain, and as soon as she bent over, he pulled his pants down unprovoked and put his testicles in her face. 
Her case landed her a $300,000 settlement. 
Not only did the media not cover it, but the University of Tennessee referred to it as a “mooning” incident to downplay the sickening event. 
As disturbing as it is, that’s how the media works. African-Americans always seem to receive more negative attention.
There hasn’t been any recent attention on sexual assaults committed by African-American LSU athletes, hopefully because there haven’t been any, but there has been attention on other assaults.
Jalen Mills, Jeremy Hill and Tyrann Mathieu are all African-American LSU athletes who have been in the media for assaults relatively recently. What about everyone else?
Most people on campus know Zach Mettenberger as LSU’s former quarterback and now as a player for the Tennessee Titans. But many people aren’t aware that he was accused of sexual assault in 2010. 
White America seems to love African-American athletes when they are bringing their teams to another win. But as soon as they see the “thug” in them, black athletes’ reputations are close to ruined. 
The roles are reversed when someone white is accused, and the excuses start rolling in. “He must have a mental illness” or “he had a really rough childhood” get thrown around often.
There is no valid reason why anyone could make a mile-long list of African-American college and professional athletes who have been accused of sexual assault, yet know so little about Manning’s and many other white athletes’ dirty pasts.
If you’re going to rip apart African-American athletes’ reputations, you should make sure white athletes are treated the same way. 
Clarke Perkins is a 19-year-old political science freshman from New Orleans. You can reach her on Twitter @ClarkePerkins.